Samsung Galaxy A34 kontra Samsung Galaxy A54

introduzzjoni

Samsung has seen continued success with its Galaxy A range. The latest additions to the sprawling family are the Galaxy A34 and Galaxy A54. The Samsung Galaxy A54 puts the A5x series back on track after a very successful A52 was followed by a more meh A53. The Galaxy A34, for its part, elevates the A3X models to new heights and begins to seriously encroach on its more expensive sibling’s territory.

You can compare the full specsheets or check out our editor’s rating below.

Kwalità ta 'disinn u bini

The two A-series phones clearly share most of their design language. This year Samsung has decided to model both of these phones after the Galaxy S23 series. This includes the signature trio of separate camera rings on the back. Size-wise, the pair differ markedly. In a rather peculiar twist this year, the Galaxy A34 has grown significantly. So much so that with a 6.6-inch display, it’s now larger than both its predecessor the Galaxy A33 5G and the Galaxy A54. If you’re looking for more screen real estate, then the A34 is the obvious choice.

You can compare the dimensions of the two phones in the 3D view using the link below.

Beyond sheer size, both of these devices are built very similarly. Both have central plastic bezels and a Gorilla Glass 5 on the front. The pricier A54 also sports Gorilla Glass 5, while the A34 settles for a sheet of plastic instead. Regardless, both feel very sturdy and well-made with virtually no flex or hollowness to speak of. Basically, both devices also have an excellent IP67 degree of protection.

The similarities continue further with the controls and overall layout. Neither phone has a 3.5mm audio jack, but both have hybrid stereo speaker setups. Both also use a similar, if not identical optical under-display fingerprint reader. We find Samsung’s sensors to be reliable and fast enough. Both phones also have a shared microSD expansion slot with the second SIM slot on the tray.

The power and volume buttons are virtually identical. It’s potentially worth noting that both the A34 and A54 have a virtual proximity sensor, which isn’t ideal in terms of accuracy and versatility.

Screen

As already mentioned, the Galaxy A34 has seen a surge in growth this year and now comes with a 6.6-inch display. It’s significantly larger than the A54’s 6.4-inch display. Other than that, the resolution and aspect ratio are the same. For this year, Samsung has decided to use a 19.5:9 aspect ratio instead of 20:9, which makes the display slightly wider. This applies to both the A34 and A54.

As for the differences, while both panels are capable of a 120Hz refresh rate, the A34 perplexingly lacks any automatic refresh rate switching, which is present on the A54. Both phones also get very bright and surpass the 1,000-nit mark. However, only the A54 has HDR support (HDR10+) on the display. The A34 cannot do HDR at all. It even lacks a hardware decoder for HDR video.

Battery ħajja

Both the A34 and A54 come with large 5,000mAh batteries. Both phones also do a great job in the battery endurance department. Out of the pair, however, the A34 definitely stands out with its 133 hours of battery life in our proprietary test. We found its MediaTek Dimensity 1080 chipset to be extremely efficient in both on-screen and off-screen tasks.

Veloċità tal-iċċarġjar

Both the Galaxy A34 and A54 support Samsung 25W PD+PPS fast charging. Definitely not the fastest out there, but still respectable, especially on the Galaxy A54, which charges noticeably faster to 100% than its bigger sibling. economic.

Despite their similar rating, the two phones perform differently in the charging department. As mentioned, neither are particularly quick to load by modern standards, but the A54 definitely scores a win. It’s also worth noting that neither phone has a charger in the box. However, check with your local dealer, as in many countries Samsung and various carriers and stores still bundle a charger with the purchase of an A34 or A54.

kelliema

The Galaxy A34 and A54 both have a very similar hybrid stereo speaker setup with a dedicated bottom-firing speaker and the amplified earpiece acting as the second channel.

Of course, this doesn’t make for a more balanced setup and the two speakers are far from identical. Even so, in practice, they create a convincing stereo effect with a nice soundstage.

Both phones get decent and similar volume, earning a “GOOD” volume score in our tests.

The actual sound quality is also very good. There’s no noticeable distortion, even at high volumes, and the soundstage is quite rich. The mids could have been presented a little better, but the highs sound great and there’s some bass as well. This applies to both the A34 and A54.

Prestazzjoni

There are no Qualcomm chips in sight on these devices. Mid-range budgets are best utilized with alternative SoC options. The Galaxy A54 uses Samsung’s Exynos 1380 chip, while the Galaxy A34 has the Mediatek Dimensity 1080 inside. Both chips have 5G capabilities and are manufactured on modern manufacturing nodes (5nm vs 6nm).

The Exynos’ CPU has a 4+4 core configuration compared to the Dimensity’s 2+6 configuration, although the powerful 4xCortex-A78 cluster in the A54 is limited to 2.4 GHz, while the A34’s 2xA78 can reach a bit ‘ higher at 2.6GHz. The A54 outperforms the a34 by about 15-20% in multi-core CPU tests, although the difference under single-core load is negligible.

The A54’s Mali-G68 MP5 GPU has one additional core compared to the Mali-G68 MC4 that the A34 is equipped with. The A54 is therefore slightly better in graphics benchmarks too and should be an ever-slightly better option for gaming, although neither phone is a powerhouse in this respect.

Both of these phones ship with the latest Android 13 and One UI 5.1 on top, with pretty much the same feature set. This list of them has gotten very extensive and sans for some niche stuff here and there like Samsung DeX, both Galaxy A series phones now offer most of the additional goodies of their S family flagship counterparts.

Samsung also promises (somewhat loosely) “up to” four major OS updates and “up to” five years of security updates for both phones. If both prove to be true, prospective buyers are looking at incredible long-term software support on both the A34 and A54.

Kwalità tal-kamera

The Galaxy A34 and A54 have similar camera setups with an OIS-equipped main camera, ultrawide, a macro on the back, and a fixed-focus selfie on the front. The A54 has slightly higher resolution sensors almost across the board: 50MP main, versus 48MP, 12MP ultrawide, versus 8MP, and a 32MP selfie, versus 13MP. Both share the same 5MP macro snapper.

Quality-wise, both phones capture excellent daytime photos with high contrast and wide dynamic range. Both phones also have that signature Samsung color science that includes a saturation boost to achieve that signature “poppy” look.

If we had to choose between the two, we’d probably give the Galaxy A54 a slight edge in this department.

Samsung Galaxy A54 camera samples: 0.6x • 1x • 1x • 2x

More samples and a detailed analysis can be found in our Galaxy A54 review.

Samsung Galaxy A34 camera samples: 0.6x • 1x • 1x • 2x

More samples and a detailed analysis can be found in our Samsung Galaxy A34 review.

Neither will fool you into thinking it can capture flagship low-light images, but both do a decent job, particularly if you stick to the main cameras. However, we would give a nod to the Galaxy A54 overall.

Video quality is another close call between these two. Both support 4K, but neither can stabilize it, so if you want stabilization, you’ll need to go for 1080p30fps.

Selfie quality between the two phones is also a bit of a wash. Again, we’d say the A54 has a slight edge over the A34. Both phones can also capture 4K selfie video at 30fps.

Here’s a taste of how the Galaxy A54’s main camera compares in terms of image quality to that of the Galaxy A34 in our photo comparison tool.

And here’s how the Galaxy A54’s main camera compares in terms of video quality to that of the Galaxy A34 in our video comparison tool.

verdett

While it’s hard to speak in exact figures, the Galaxy A54 definitely commands a premium over the Galaxy A34. One somewhere in the vicinity of €100/$100, which is definitely not insignificant. Meanwhile, the two devices are quite similar in their overall offering to the user.

If we were to speak outright, the A54 is definitely the technically superior device. Instead of plastic, it has a Gorilla Glass 5 back, HDR10+ support, and automatic refresh rate switching on its 6.4-inch 120Hz Super AMOLED display. Its Exynos 1380 chipset has a performance edge over the Dimension 1080 inside the A34 and also offers slightly better connectivity options, especially Wi-Fi 6. The A54 also charges noticeably faster than the A34 with the same 25W PD charger. It also has a higher resolution overall camera setup, which is slightly better in quality than the A34. The punch-hole selfie camera also makes for a more modern design.

That said, the difference in price between the two devices isn’t insignificant, while the overall difference in user experience is. The A34 is definitely the best value in our book. Unless you really appreciate some of the aforementioned benefits the A54 has to offer, we’d probably recommend the A34 instead.